The invention relates in general to munitions and in particular to cargo projectiles that dispense a payload and descend to the ground at a predetermined velocity, which velocity is scaleable for various non-lethal cargo applications.
The specific problem solved by the invention is controlling the descent rate of a projectile shell that is used for delivering various non-lethal payloads. Non-lethal projectiles should be non-lethal in every aspect. However, conventional non-lethal applications deliver non-lethal payloads using regular projectile cargo shells that descend at high speed with a significant weight and a lethal kinetic energy. For crowd dispersion or riot control, it may be desirable to deliver, from a remote distance, a payload such as tear gas or malodorant pellets. While it is desired to disperse the crowd or control the riot, it is not desired to kill or seriously injure anyone. A problem arises when delivering the payload with conventional munition shells, which impact the ground with a full impact velocity that is converted to lethal kinetic energy. Therefore, there is a need for projectile shells that deliver non-lethal payloads to be equipped with non-lethal capability. The present invention renders a cargo projectile shell non-lethal by reducing its descent rate with a conventional parachute application.
The present invention uses a conventional projectile shell body, such as but not limited to, an 81 mm illumination mortar. The deployment sequence starts with launch, then flight, then fuze detonation in air at a preset time at a predetermined height and location. Then, the payload is ejected and the projectile shell body descends to the ground. Therefore, the inventive projectile should be strong enough to be launched under high G-forces and able to meet the range requirements for a mission need. The invention uses an aerodynamic decelerator system known as a parachute to decelerate the cargo projectile shell to minimize its impact velocity, thus minimizing impact kinetic energy. A fuze can be located in either the front or rear of the projectile, depending on missions and types of projectile. For most finners, as in the case of the 81 mm illumination mortar cartridge, the projectile is stabilized by a fin assembly. The decelerator system and payload are more conveniently and efficiently ejected through the nose of the projectile. In this application, the fuze is more effectively located in the rear of the projectile (boattail) to push the payload and decelerator system forward through the nose. The decelerator system is attached to the cargo projectile shell and will bring the body to the ground at a predetermined descent rate. The descent rate is determined by the size and type of decelerator system, and can be tailored for any application requirement
It has now been discovered that the above and other objects of the present invention may be accomplished in the following manner. Specifically, design and test work have proven that a single parachute decelerator system can recover the ammunition cargo projectile shell and descend it at a predetermined rate so its kinetic energy meets the non-lethal requirement. Thus, this invention can be used on ammunitions intended for non-lethal missions. The invention is for delivering a payload, dispersing the payload by functioning the fuze located in the rear of the projectile, and recovering the projectile shell using a single parachute decelerator system at a predetermined descent rate.
The invention will be better understood, and further objects, features, and advantages thereof will become more apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.